Improvement in hanging signal-cords of railroad cars



1. F. RICE.

` Hanging Signal-Cords of Railroad-Cars` N0. 139,262. a PatentedlVIay27,187.3.

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UNrrEn STATES JOHN F. RICE, OF FITCHBURG, MASSACHUSETTS.

" IMPROVEMENT IN HANGING SIGNAL-coRDs oF RAILROAD CARS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 139,262, dated May 27,1873; application filed Y March 10, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, JOHN F. RICE, of Fitchburg, in the county ofWorcester, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement inHanging Bell or Signal Cords of Railroad-Cars, of which the following isa full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings making part of this specification in which- Figure1 is a plan of the ceiling of a railroad car, having my improvementapplied thereto. Fig. 2 is a side-elevation, representing my improvementapplied to two contiguous railroad cars. Fig. 3 is a perspective view ofone of the spools or pulleys around which the signalcords are wound, andits casing. Fig. 4 is a vertical section through the center of the same.

Bell or signal cords of railroad cars have heretofore been suspended bypassing through a series of eyes or hangers, provided with pul leysattached to the ceiling of the car, the cord of one car being connectedwith that of the next by a metallic coupling. These cords are, however,frequently broken through the neglect of the person in charge to detachthem when the cars are to be separated; and when thus broken and drawnrapidly through the cars, much damage is often occasioned to thehead-linings, lamps, and other fixtures. Furthermore, the cord whenbroken is sometimes drawn out upon the ground and soiled, and whenreplaced it is liable to deface the headlinings, by cominginto contacttherewith.

To overcome these difficulties is the object of my invention, whichconsists in attaching the signal-cords to a series of spools or pulleysarranged one at each end of each car, so that the revolution of onespool, by pulling the cord attached thereto, will operate the otherspools in advance of it and cause the signal to be given as required;while, if the personin charge neglects to nncouple the cords when thecars are to be separated from each other or from the locomotive, thecord will break between the cars, or detach itself from the spool orpulley at the end of the car, and no damage will be occasioned, as thecord extending between the two spools within the car will remainundisturbed.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand and use my invention,I will proceed to describe the manner in which 1 have carried it out.

In the said drawings, A represents the ceiling of a railroad car, ateach end of which, near the door, is secured a hollow drum or casing B,within which is placed a spool or pulley C provided with two grooves, ab, and rcvolv` ing on a pin, c. To one of the pulleys C within thegroove a is secured one end of the signalcord d leading from the adjoining car, the cord passing around the pulley as seen in Figs.` 3 and4, and to this same pulley, within the groove b is secured one end ofthe cord e which passes around it with the same number of turns as thecord d, but inthe opposite direc! tion. The cord e extends from thispulley longitudinally through the carto the pulley at its opposite end,where it isl secured within its groove b, and wound around as beforedescribed; and to this same pulley, within its groove a, but wound inthe opposite direction, is secured the cord d, which is connectedyviththe pulley C of the next car, and so on throughout the whole train; andthus, if one of the pulleys C is revolved by the cord connectedtherewith, the motion will be communicated through the several pulleysto all of the cords in advance of the one pulled, and the signal I willbe given as required. Each of the cords d which extends between two carsis provided with an ordinary coupling, f, as seen in Fig. 2, The cords de, after leaving the pulleys, pass over friction-rolls g, Fig. 3, whichrevolve on vertical pins or shafts secured between proj ections on thecasings B. 0ne side of each of the casin gs B is hinged so that it canbe opened as seen in Fig. 3, to allow of the removal of the spool Cafter the withdrawal of the pin c,

which is held in place and prevented from dropping out by a disk hpivoted to the bottom of the casing. 'I he hinged side of the casing issecured when closed` by a suitable catch, t'. `Instead of a portion ofthe side ofthe casing being made to open as shown, its bottom may bepivoted so as to allow of the removal of the pulley, if preferred. Aboutthe same length of cord is intended to be wound in each of the groovesof the pulleys C so that an equal length can be drawn off in eitherdirection.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the cord e inside the car, isnot directly connected with that running to the next ear, but indireetlythrough the spool C; and consequently if' the person in charge neglectsto uncouple the oord d between the ears, or between the forward ear andthe locomotive, when they are separated, the cord d will either break ordetach itself from the spool C at the end of the car, but no unusualstrain will be brought upon the cord e inside the car, which will remainundisturbed, and all liability of damage to the ear or injury to thepassengers from the breakin g of the signal-cord is thus entirelyavoided.

The above described device is of simple construction, not liable to'getout of order, and can be furnished at a moderate cost.

JOHN F. RICE. 'In presence of- RUFUs F. OoWLEs, ELI RICE.

